Is 16 old enough to make adult decisions??

Sheryl · Post by **Sheryl** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 7:16 am

In Virginia, age 16 is old enough to drive a car, work a 40-hour week, stand trial in adult court, and marry.

Whether 16 is old enough to reject traditional cancer treatment is at the heart of a trial slated to begin next week on the Eastern Shore town of Accomac.

Starchild Abraham Cherrix, a 16-year-old suffering from Hodgkin's disease, has refused chemotherapy and radiation treatments ordered by his oncologist in favor of an herbal remedy prescribed by a Mexican clinic

rest of story...http://news.yahoo.com/s/ct/20060810/cr_ ... courtfight

I'm not sure bout herb therapy helping cancer. However I do think this boy has the right to decide whether or not he wants the traditional treatment for cancer. Agree or Dissagree

koan · Post by **koan** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 7:36 am

The sad part about this is that any remedy needs a positive environment to help it work. Some people go into remission and doctors don't know why. This person is old enough to realize he has a choice and to have found an alternative. Unfortunately the people who think they know more than him are going to create the worst possible healing environment they can. Shame on them. Hopefully the battle will strengthen him not weaken him.

DesignerGal · Post by **DesignerGal** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 7:57 am

I agree he should be able to make his own decisions.

Marie5656 · Post by **Marie5656** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 12:18 pm

I read an article about this kid in the paper. I feel that he is of an age where he should be allowed to make informed decisions about his care and treatment.

RedGlitter · Post by **RedGlitter** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 8:40 pm

SnoozeControl wrote: Not trying to sound flippant here, but the parents named him Starchild. I have to wonder how sound their decisions would be.

Probably educated freethinkers.

I read about this issue when it first came out and I was livid. If you have cancer chances are you've already been forced into maturity by the sheer seriousness of facing your own mortality. Plus this guy's already been through chemo once and knows the drill, he knows he doesn't want it and has every right to refuse it. We're talking injecting poison into the body to counteract another poison. The cure's just as bad as the disease. How dare the "authorities" butt in and force this "boy" to succumb to a substance he does not want in his body. I for one believe there are other and better ways of treating cancer except that Big Pharma and the government would not benefit from them so chemo and radiation are the "acceptable/accepted" treatments. Forcing someone to undergo what I consider experimental treatment smacks of Naziism in my eyes. Dang, now I'm ticked all over again!

Adam Zapple · Post by **Adam Zapple** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 9:24 pm

I think it depends on the 16-yr old. This kid seems to be intelligent enough to weigh both treatments and decide on the one he wants. Some 16-yr olds are mature and knowledgeable and some aren't.

OpenMind · Post by **OpenMind** » Sat Aug 12, 2006 6:34 am

I don't think that age is necessarily relevant. As Adam says, teenagers reach maturity at diferent ages. If a teenager shows that he/she has grasped the pros and cons for making a decision, then their choice should be respected and fully supported, whatever the issue.

Post by **spot** » Sat Aug 12, 2006 6:37 am

RedGlitter wrote: Plus this guy's already been through chemo once and knows the drill, he knows he doesn't want it and has every right to refuse it.Excellent point, excellent post altogether, I'd support every word of that.

Adam Zapple · Post by **Adam Zapple** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 3:52 am

Heard on the news that a judge ruled the boy can get alternative treatment.

Accountable · Post by **Accountable** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 4:24 am

I see no difference between this issue and the abortion question I raised in another thread. The boy's a minor. It's the parents' decision.

If the kid was fighting against his parents, I might be a little less firm on this, but in this particular case, the gov't has overreached.

Marie5656 · Post by **Marie5656** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 12:25 pm

Here are my thoughts. When I was 16..back a hundred years or so ago...I am not sure I would have been able to make such a decision, and to be honest..I could see my parents not allowing me to have a say, but that is a different story.

Today's 16 year olds are exposed to so much more than I was..with the internet, more news and info coming at them. I think that maturity comes earlier to some than it did before.

I am glad the judge ruled in his favor, though.